1
as in hissed
to make a sound like that of stretching out the speech sound \s\
with their satin costumes swishing, the little ballerinas chasséd onto the stage
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2
as in flapped
to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions
the horse's tail swishes after every jump
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Recent Examples of swished
The video of serene waves that swished behind the curved stage at the start of Dua Lipa’s concert slowly intensified until the tide became a surge, an appropriate analogy for the pop superstar’s arrival in the US for the first time in more than three years.
—
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025
But just as Indiana was on the verge of cutting the lead to a single possession, Powers fouled Clark’s former Iowa teammate Kate Martin on a 3-pointer right in front of Indiana’s bench and the second-year guard swished the shot to erupt the Chase Center crowd.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025
Chalmers swished the wide-open corner 3, giving Miami the target score of 50 and causing a wild celebration in which his teammates mobbed him on the court.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2025
This reminded me once seeing an elephant with a bunch of flies on its backside getting swished away by its tail.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2025
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025
But just as Indiana was on the verge of cutting the lead to a single possession, Powers fouled Clark’s former Iowa teammate Kate Martin on a 3-pointer right in front of Indiana’s bench and the second-year guard swished the shot to erupt the Chase Center crowd.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025
Chalmers swished the wide-open corner 3, giving Miami the target score of 50 and causing a wild celebration in which his teammates mobbed him on the court.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2025
This reminded me once seeing an elephant with a bunch of flies on its backside getting swished away by its tail.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swished
Verb
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Nineteen hours after departure the train took its final breath, hissed and braked into the historic port of Narvik.—
The Editors,
Outside,
31 Aug. 2025
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The previous week, Nini had boldly hissed at her from five feet away.—
Tao Lin,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Moytoy flapped his lips fast like an engine.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Aug. 2025
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Cunha, sitting on the turf, flapped his arms when Mbeumo failed to follow in for a tap-in.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Without appearing to look, Rogers flicked the ball round the corner, straight into the path of Madueke running in behind, cutting inwards from the right.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
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Aniston’s new haircut incorporates more length and less volume, features a sleek root base, and focuses on the feathery, flicked ends of the original cut.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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After the Blue Jays swung a trade to bring in Shane Bieber at this season's deadline, Edward Eng of FanSided's Jays Journal predicted the team would turn to him as a long-term replacement while letting Max Scherzer walk this winter.—
Peter Chawaga,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
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Last year the park swung open the doors to equally ingenious fairytale rides themed to the Frozen, Tangled and Peter Pan cartoons.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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My hand twitched toward the phone, muscle memory stronger than willpower.—
Maggie Downs,
Oc Register,
9 Sep. 2025
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The mechanism for raising and lowering the pen made a weak clunking sound and barely twitched.—
Stephen Cass,
IEEE Spectrum,
27 June 2025
Verb
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This magnificent fruit can be candied, bobbed, picked and pied.—
Lorenza Medley,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Sep. 2025
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The boat gently bobbed above where the divers soon would be swimming.—
Frank Witsil,
Freep.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Her tail wagged with excitement at the new territory.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
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Hope then asked to hold the pup, who has curly sandy-colored fur and wagged her tail as the 6-year-old held her in her arms (with a little help from her mom).—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The president starts out by making a visit to Liberty Arena to play basketball with some school children, then gets jerked away when the crisis happens.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
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If Hall jerked too violently, let alone tried to run, the wire would pull the trigger, firing the shotgun Kiritsis had pointed at the back of Hall’s head.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swished. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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